A traditional method of authentication can involve prompting a user for a username and password. However, such a method of authentication can be prone to error and can require the user to recall hard-to-remember passwords.
Another traditional method of authentication can involve receiving a unique property of the user, such as a fingerprint, to identify a user. However, such a method of authentication can be vulnerable to discovery of the user property. For example, an attacker who obtains a fingerprint of a user (or a facsimile thereof) can then falsely log in as the actual user.
Another traditional method of authentication can involve presentation of a token (e.g., smart card) issued to the authorized user. However, such a method of authentication can be attacked by stealing the token.
Additionally, the traditional methods of authentication do not provide anonymity for a user requesting authentication.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a system and method for anonymous user authentication which overcomes the deficiencies of the authentication systems and methods currently known in the art.